Google DeepMind is hiring an economist to study how AI could reshape global wealth

Google DeepMind is hiring a Senior AI Economist to study how advanced artificial intelligence could reshape the global economy, wealth distribution, and concepts of scarcity. The role, recently advertised by the company, aims to examine what economics might look like in a world transformed by artificial general intelligence (AGI)—a stage where machine intelligence equals or surpasses human capability in solving complex problems.

According to the job listing, the economist will be responsible for leading a new area of research exploring post-AGI economics, focusing on how power, resources, and productivity could be distributed in an economy fundamentally altered by advanced AI. The position requires building detailed economic simulations and models to test potential future scenarios and conducting research into how AGI could challenge existing economic assumptions about scarcity, wealth, and distribution.

While Google declined to comment on the listing, as per a report by Business Insider, industry experts note that DeepMind’s move reflects growing interest across the AI sector in anticipating the broader societal and financial effects of AGI. Other AI firms, including Anthropic, have also begun recruiting specialists to analyse the technology’s potential effects on labour markets and economic growth.

DeepMind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis has often spoken about the potential scale of AI’s economic disruption. He stated that reaching AGI could lead to an era of “radical abundance”, but warned that it may also destabilise existing systems if not managed responsibly. He said that economists need to consider what such advances could mean for money, capitalism, and even the concept of companies, emphasising that all these structures could change profoundly.

Hassabis has consistently urged for the creation of expert oversight bodies to ensure AI’s development benefits society and does not spiral into unintended economic or ethical crises.